The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) – Jefferies Financial Group boosted their Q4 2019 earnings estimates for shares of The Coca-Cola in a report issued on Tuesday, July 23rd, Zacks Investment Research reports. Jefferies Financial Group analyst K. Grundy now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $0.45 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.43.
The Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. The Coca-Cola had a net margin of 21.11% and a return on equity of 45.67%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year.
Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. SunTrust Banks raised their price objective on shares of The Coca-Cola to $60.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays set a $54.00 price objective on shares of The Coca-Cola and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of The Coca-Cola in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of The Coca-Cola from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of The Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $54.10.
Shares of KO stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.41. The stock had a trading volume of 13,804,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,722,016. The Coca-Cola has a twelve month low of $44.25 and a twelve month high of $54.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.48.
Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Lehman & Derafelo Financial Resources LLC bought a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Prudential PLC raised its position in shares of The Coca-Cola by 23.3% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 1,322,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,333,000 after purchasing an additional 249,948 shares during the period. White Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at approximately $207,000. WealthStone Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $1,891,000. Finally, united american securities inc. d b a uas asset management acquired a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $1,466,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.69% of the company’s stock.
In related news, VP John Murphy sold 84,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.99, for a total transaction of $4,219,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 133,715 shares in the company, valued at $6,684,412.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Edward Long sold 30,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.97, for a total transaction of $1,519,687.64. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 57,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,173.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 318,761 shares of company stock valued at $16,182,125. Corporate insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. The Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 76.92%.
About The Coca-Cola
The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures and distributes various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks; water, enhanced water, and sports drinks; juice, dairy, and plantbased beverages; teas and coffees; and energy drinks. It also offers concentrates, syrups, beverage bases, source waters, and powders/minerals, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.